Longitudinal members are known, for example, from DE 102 31 807 A1. In this longitudinal member, the reinforcement element is fastened in an angled manner to vertical limbs of the tubular member part. The angled reinforcement element additionally has lateral webs for fastening to the vertical limbs. As a result, the member part is a component which is complex to manufacture. Furthermore, this configuration leads to a very high stiffening of the vertical limbs of the member part. In the event of a crash of the motor vehicle, however, forces are principally introduced into a lower horizontal limb of the member part. The known longitudinal member is therefore very resilient in the curved region in the event of a crash of the motor vehicle.
Furthermore known from DE 44 14 472 A1 is a motor vehicle body in which the reinforcement part in an arc of the member part is fastened to the lower horizontal limb and to the vertical limbs. By this means, in the event of a crash of the motor vehicle, the forces are introduced from the lower horizontal limb into the vertical limb. This configuration of the longitudinal member also results in the resilience of the curved region being too high in the event of a crash of the motor vehicle.
In view of the foregoing, it is at least one object of the invention to further develop a longitudinal member of the type specified initially in such a manner that in the event of a motor vehicle crash, it has a particularly high load-bearing capacity in the curved region. In addition, other objects, desirable features, and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.